When Thom Barron calls, people answer—especially cute young twinks like Franko Potente. In the opening moments of Countdown, he is contacted by the hunky veteran, who invites him to hook up. But Barron only has a limited amount of time, so Potente has to haul ass or be replaced by the next guy on the call list. What ensues is a truly amazing race, as for the next 90 minutes Potente rushes around Berlin in order to get to his man. Along the way, he encounters many interesting characters and stimulating situations. One thing is for sure: Director Sven Jungbluth has no shortage of creativity and innovative ideas. First, Potente’s cell phone is swiped by a pierced, tattooed street tough. Potente follows him home and spies as the guy engages in oral, anal, footplay and bootlicking with a similar type. Potente retrieves his phone but then gets drawn into a beauty salon, where a leather man lures a hairdresser away as he is in the midst of pounding a female customer. The poor gal uses a hairbrush to ease her loss but soon gives up and leaves the guys to their fucking. Next, a hairy dude lures Potente into a burger joint, where he again watches as the counter boy pleasures himself right into the salad dressing. Yum! At a nightclub, a gaggle of go-go boys abuse one lucky stud as Potente looks on. Then, in an odd twist, he is taken hostage and tied up while his abductor jacks off and tops another captive in stirrups. The weirdness only gets weirder when Potente stumbles into an art gallery where two models suck and fuck as part of the exhibition. The patrons even applaud when they shoot! The action then cuts to a video booth, where an unexpected threeway takes place. Back on the street and still on the run, Potente gets hit by a cab, where two hotties happen to be going at it in the backseat. This doesn’t unnerve them or the driver. They just throw Potente in the trunk and keep going until they get off. By the time Potente finally finds Barron in a tearoom, time has run out…or has it? It takes a long while to get to this moment, and interestingly, the obligatory fuck between Barron and Potente, which the entire movie has been building toward, ends up being a threeway. In the scene, Barron is as beautiful and hung as ever. His massively veined cock is photographed with great care and love, leading to lust from both Potente and Christoph Scharff. Ultimately, there is a sweet surprise ending that brings the story full circle. Jam-packed with action (and 21 models!), Countdown has nine scenes, most of which are consistently good and tight. The editing and camera work fit the breakneck pace, and the picture quality is high. Despite strong performances—especially from Potente, who carries this baby on his slim, small shoulders—the only quibble is that superstar Barron appears in just the last few minutes of the film. When you’ve got a lead who is this hot, and is such a welcome sight after being away, why not use him? We’d take Barron’s call anytime. (Centaur Films)

About Vincent Lambert

Vincent Lambert is a New York–based journalist, blogger and photographer who has covered the adult-entertainment industry since 1996. He has written for numerous publications, including Adult Video News, GAYVN, XBIZ, Adam Gay Film & Video Directory, Unzipped, Freshmen, Men, Latin Inches, Black Inches, All-Man, Manshots, Inside Porn and HX. Lambert has interviewed some of gay porn’s brightest stars—such as Jeff Stryker, Ryan Idol and Zeb Atlas—and reported on a variety of events, including Will Clark’s Bad Boys Pool Party and the Gay Erotic Expo. He also served as a judge for the GAYVN Awards for 12 years. In 2006, Lambert stepped behind the camera to write and direct his first scene, titled “Sex Party for Two,” for Lucas Entertainment’s “Encounters 2: The Point of No Return.” In 2007, he created his popular site VincentLambert.com, which features news, gossip and information. His short stories appear in three books from German publisher Bruno Gmünder. E-mail him at VincentLambertNYC@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @VinceLambertNYC.